Travel Weary
by Elfearz-hunterofthemystra
Summary: **Brisngr spoilers!** This takes place during Brisngr when Eragon and Arya are traveling back to the Varden alone. They decide to stop at an Inn to rest for the night. Rated T and deserving of it. A/N: I of course do not own any of the characters.
1. A Night Inn

Arya and Eragon were exhausted from running all day and after a bit of heated discussion decided it would do them no good to wear themselves out. They planned to stop in a little village a few miles down the road to rest for the night. They arrived just before the sun began to sink below the horizon. They waited at the front desk as an older woman with honey colored hair and skin that reminded one of tilled earth helped the family in front of them. A human child of about eight years turned to stare at Arya. Despite her attempts to use magic to alter her looks she still had an exotic beauty to her. When the innkeeper's wife was done attending to them she smiled broadly at the two travelers.

"What can I do for you?" She asked in a slight accent.

Arya opened her mouth to speak, but remembered the custom's of humans and allowed Eragon to answer; "My er… wife and I here would like a room for the night." He motioned towards Arya. The honey-haired woman glanced between the two exceptionally beautiful people for a moment before responding. "Just a night?" "One night will do." Arya tried to smile, an unusual gesture for her. "All right, I will show you to your room, then. My name is Nadea, if you need anything, just let me know." Eragon smiled at the woman. "Thank you very much." Nadea turned and left.

The two walked into the room and looked around. It was sparsely furnished with a single bed in the middle, a badly worn dresser and a solitary curtained window. It was just an average room that would be found in the more rural parts of Alagasea. It reminded Eragon a bit of home. He pushed the painful memories aside and muttered; "You can have the bed of course." Arya mumbled a quick "Thank you" without turning towards him. "Nice cover, by the way. Pretending I'm your wife." He nodded without looking away from the ground. Eragon began arranging his things on the floor to create a makeshift sleeping quarters.

Arya was setting her pack down in a corner when suddenly a splintering sound erupted. Eragon, thinking that some danger had befallen them, was quick to react. He sprang to his feet and knocked the ebony-haired elf to the ground. She was too stunned to respond. After he had composed his senses enough, Eragon looked around to see what the cause of the noise was. A leg of the rickety dresser had given out. It was a false alarm.

"Eragon?"

He turned his head away from the wreck. His face was suddenly very close to Arya's. _What is he doing?_ She thought.

"You can get off me now, it was nothing." Being this close to her was irresistible. Without stopping to think about the consequences of his actions he closed the gap and pressing his warm body against hers, kissed her. Arya was tense and reluctant at first, but he persisted. _This isn't happening. I shouldn't be allowing this._ She finally opened her mouth and relaxed her body, giving into what she had fought for so long. The temptation was too great to ignore. The love and passion she felt for the rider overwhelmed her inhibition. She traced the outline of the inside of his juicy lips with her tongue. Eragon could not believe it! How long had he dreamed of this? His sultry breath filled her mouth. This lasted for a few more moments, before both unwillingly broke apart, panting. They stared into each other's eyes wondering at what just happened.

Arya awoke the next morning in Eragon's arms. They hardly spoke the next day as they traveled. The confusion about last night occupied Arya's thoughts.


	2. Confusion

A/N: Like always, I own nothing. Thank you so much for the reviews everyone, they mean a lot to me! This was my first time putting a story on here and my first Inheritance fanfic, so thank you. For this next chapter it is the same as chapter one, but from Eragon's perspective. His thoughts are in italics. Then it will pick up where Chapter one left off from Arya's POV again. Enjoy!

Arya and Eragon were exhausted from running all day and after a bit of heated discussion decided it would do them no good to wear themselves out. _Stubborn Elf_! Eragon thought begrudgingly when he had finally convinced her to concede to his point. They planned to stop in a little village a few miles down the road to rest for the night. They arrived just before the sun began to sink below the horizon. They waited at the front desk as an older woman with honey colored hair and skin that reminded one of tilled earth helped the family in front of them. When the innkeeper's wife was done attending to them she smiled broadly at the two travelers.

"What can I do for you?" She asked in a slight accent.

Eragon answered; "My er… wife and I here would like a room for the night." He motioned towards Arya. Eragon thought he saw Arya blush a bit from the corner of his eye, but he couldn't be sure. The honey-haired woman glanced between the two exceptionally beautiful people for a moment before responding. "Just a night?" "One night will do." Arya tried to smile, an unusual gesture for her. _She answered that awfully fast. _ "All right, I will show you to your room, then. My name is Nadea, if you need anything, just let me know." Eragon smiled at the woman. "Thank you very much." Nadea turned and left.

The two walked into the room and looked around. It was sparsely furnished with a single bed in the middle, a badly worn dresser and a solitary curtained window. It was just an average room that would be found in the more rural parts of Alagasea. It reminded Eragon a bit of home. He pushed the painful memories aside and muttered; "You can have the bed of course." Arya mumbled a quick "Thank you" without turning towards him. "Nice cover, by the way. Pretending I'm your wife." He nodded without looking away from the ground. _I hope she doesn't notice me blushing this time!_ Eragon began arranging his things on the floor to create a makeshift sleeping quarters.

Arya was setting her pack down in a corner when suddenly a splintering sound erupted. Eragon, thinking that some danger had befallen them, was quick to react. _Arya, no!_ He sprang to his feet and knocked the ebony-haired elf to the ground. She was too stunned to respond. After he had composed his senses enough, Eragon looked around to see what the cause of the noise was. A leg of the rickety dresser had given out. It was a false alarm.

"Eragon?"

He turned his head away from the wreck. His face was suddenly very close to Arya's. _Her smell is intoxicating. _He took a quick glance down at her lips.

"You can get off me now, it was nothing." Being this close to her was irresistible. Without stopping to think about the consequences of his actions he closed the gap and pressing his warm body against hers, kissed her. Arya was tense and reluctant at first, but he persisted. _I know you want this too._ She finally opened her mouth and relaxed her body, giving into what she had fought for so long. She traced the outline of the inside of his juicy lips with her tongue. Eragon could not believe it! How long had he dreamed of this? His sultry breath filled her mouth. This lasted for a few more moments, before both unwillingly broke apart, panting. _Wow, that was better than I thought it would be. _They stared into each other's eyes wondering at what just happened.

**(Still Eragon's POV) **Eragon stirred the next morning to find Arya asleep in his arms. He smiled and squeezed her tightly afraid that this was a dream and she might disappear at any moment. She opened her eyes and quickly jumped up. "We better not delay any longer." She was already picking up her things and so failed to notice the frown spreading across Eragon's face.

Arya was quiet and distant the rest of that day. At around noon they stopped briefly to find some food. In Arya's haste to leave they had not the time to pick anything up beforehand. She went looking for some vegetation while Eragon stretched his limbs. He tried to concentrate, but the feel of her soft lips against his lingered on his mind. _Why has she been so quiet today? I hope I haven't messed things up_. He silently berated himself for acting without thinking again.

(Arya's POV)

The elf wandered through the meager vegetation twirling her raven tinted hair in her fingers, her mind a million miles away. _How could you have allowed yourself to lose control like that?_ _There is far too much at stake! _She mindlessly picked at some edible berries growing on a nearby bush. She collected them in a bundle using her baggy shirt. _What got a hold of you? …His breath and that look in his eyes and the taste of his lips… No! Don't think like that, focus!_ She began gathering various shrubs for their meal as well.

Eventually Arya drifted back to where Eragon sat waiting. She handed him the food without looking at his face, avoiding eye contact. She heard him sigh as he popped berries into his mouth.

A/N: Ok, sorry not much happened in this one. It will get more exciting in the next chapter. Also, this is the only chapter that I planned on switching POV like this. Hope you liked it!


	3. Fate

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Final exams week has left me brain dead so I hope you enjoy this chapter. Comments and constructive criticism is always welcome. Thank you for sticking with me.  **

The two made their way across the expanse. As they moved closer to the Varden Eragon couldn't help, but be elated with the thought of being reunited with Saphira. Arya could tell his mood was lifting as she glanced sidelong at him. They had been running quietly for most of their trip since the night at the inn.

They decided to make another quick stop for nourishment. They were expending much energy with the distances they were covering and so they needed to restore it. Eragon volunteered to search for something edible this time.

Arya was a bit relieved to be alone with her thoughts for a moment. She was still taken aback by what happened at the inn. She sat down on a fallen log twisting a blade of grass thoughtlessly. It wasn't so much that Eragon kissed her that was surprising, but she…. kissed him back. _It felt so right at the time. _She mentally scrolled through a long list of reasons why that was a bad idea. _So much depends on him. He can't afford distractions. _Without realizing it she let the blade of grass slip through her fingers and the gentle breeze picked it up and quickly spirited it towards the ends of Alagasea. A few strands of hair fell across her face, but she did not brush them aside. The unexpected turn of events had left the usually astute elf scatterbrained. _There's his age of course…no, no you already mentioned that. Well, I suppose it is worth mentioning again. _She didn't want to admit it, but she was scared by her newly realized feelings.

A loud noise jerked Arya out of her deep thoughts. She sprang to her feet and rushed in among the trees where Eragon had disappeared a few… _how long had she been distracted?_ When she came to the clearing she saw Eragon grappling with two adult male Urgals. His pack lay sprawled across the ground a few inches away. He must have dropped it in his haste and surprise and that was the loud noise she heard. She figured the Urgals must have happened upon Eragon during one of their coming of age trials. Seeing a lone man they must have thought him an easy target. Arya went into instant battle-mode. She attempted to draw one of the creatures away from Eragon.

Urgals are strong, but Elves are nimble on their feet and Arya is a skilled warrior. She had no trouble felling him. Eragon's fight was over quickly as well. It ended however, with the two traveling companions wearied, bruised and still hungry. They put food on hold for a moment to clean up the evidence of the fight. They couldn't risk word getting out about their whereabouts until they were safely back with the Varden. As Arya crossed over one of the dead Urgals his arm suddenly twitched, catching Arya's leg. She fell into Eragon who was catching his breath for a moment. Startled, she looked up into his eyes without speaking.

Finally she broke the silence.

"It seems we have an affinity for accidentally falling into each other."

She tried to keep her tone light.

Eragon looked deeply into her eyes before responding.

"I believe your native tongue has a word for that."

"What?"

"Wyrda-fate."

Arya pushed herself away and attempted to casually brush herself off without speaking and walked away.


End file.
